flat basin to catch water that would otherwise drip too fast through the soil and basket. Plant in these baskets the common German ivy, the passion flower, or the Wandering Jew, with a fern or some sword leaved plant in the middle, or sow in one of them seeds of white and crimson petunias, in another all sorts of nasturtiums and morning glory seeds. These plants all do well indoors if they have the sun. They need much water and careful looking after the graceful disposition of the vines. Properly cared for they are the most pleasing features of the room, and if you can have little else I advise you to have these.

For window pots the boys may fit six inch shelves about six inches below the window ledge and on these may be placed plants in common round tin fruit cans, or square syrup cans, which latter come enameled in colors. The former may be painted with five cents worth of Venetian red mixed in boiled oil with a little turpentine. They look like terra cotta pots. Punch holes in the bottom for drainage and put in a layer of small pebbles at the bottom before putting in the soil. All sorts of geraniums bloom well in school-room windows and it is worth while to have little else except some callas and cannas for their tropic foliage, and plants of the lily family with their sword shaped leaves, whether they will bloom or not. The chief thing is to select something picturesque rather than choice, and fine leaved plants are unsuitable. I like the maple leaved abutilons, both plain green and with golden or white spotted foliage, they are so graceful against the light. Study your window as if it were a painting and adjust the foliage as the case demands. By placing small pots along the window sill and large ones below upon the shelf you obtain excellent results. If you like, one window may have a narrow shelf half way up the lower sash, for a third row of plants, and these may be such as are inclined to trail or droop in vines, as maurandia, oxalis, etc.

I made a window garden once that gave me great delight, at very little cost. Oilcloth of a square tile design was cut into strips. They were about seven inches broad and were used to cover the sides of a box made their exact depth and long enough to fill the width of the window as nearly as the size of the square would permit. The width of the box was seven inches, one tile on each end. None of the squares were cut, for that would have dispelled the illusion which was that of a costly Majolica jardiniere made of tiles. It was filled with bulbs of white narcissus, yellow daffodils, and hyacinths of several colors.

In a window too dark for plants to grow may be placed a jar of

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OF THE

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long branches of English ivy and a hanging basket of the same above. Some ferns rejoice in shade, and such may be utilized here. Of these there are many native varieties in California, and you need not purchase costly ones.

If a window be very gloomy or if it looks out on unsightly scenes, I like an ebonized curtain pole with brass fixtures, costing about thirty-five cents, on which are hung two curtains of red cheese cloth with bands of yellow cheese cloth half a yard in depth placed half a yard from the bottom. These curtains are to hang straight down the window on either side nearly to the floor,-the ivy vines occupy the space between.

The teacher's desk is usually an unlovely object, and may be improved by a table scarf of gold or scarlet plush of the same kind as used upon the walls. Cut a strip two or three yards long-it should be long enough to fall over the ends half way to the floor, and fringe the ends with the scissors as described for the banners, making the fringe double by a second row placed outside. Over the seam where this is basted place a band of contrasting color embroidered in a long Russian stitch in a star pattern with crewel,--five stars are enough for the width of the plush. The band should be about six inches deep, and the stars four inches across, made easily by tracing five circles four inches in diameter at equal distances on the back of the band, with pencil; from the center radiate with two inch stitches in intersecting crosses of two kinds, alternately, to form the star. colors, you may make the middle and the two outside stars alike, having the upright cross of black crewel and the oblique one intersecting it, of light green; then divide the spaces between these crosses with rays of bright yellow. The other two stars, alternate with these, may have upright crosses of white and oblique ones of light blue; with yellow rays between. This combination is quite oriental and the work well repays your trifling outlay of time and trouble.

One good sized shelf or two smaller shelves may be supplied with a drapery to match this scarf using strips the length of the shelf and half the width of the plush, decorated with fringes on the lower edge headed by a band of embroidered stars as on the scarf. These mantel like shelves may hold your best books or a few framed pictures or smaller ones on easels, vases or curios of any kind. You may obtain excellent plaster copies of good subjects in statuary for a few cents, and these, either plain white or bronzed, are suitable for such shelves. Because these casts are cheap, they are not to be despised, if they are not coarse or trivial. I have seen busts of Grant, of Milton, and of

Shakespeare in plaster that may be bronzed at slight expense, and there are Mercurys, Apollos, cherubs and cupids, to be had in plaster, very suitable for school use.

I have personally tested all the plans suggested in this and the foregoing articles and believe them to be not too difficult, for a person of ordinary ingenuity, but of course not all are applicable to all cases. I advise the adoption of the easiest methods first, and then, if the spirits of the decorator are found to be good and her zeal intense, she may adopt others according to her strength and her day. And here let me repeat that it takes plenty of strength of purpose and a long day to make much headway against the difficulties presented by the average school-room, still Grant's motto: "I'll fight it out on this line if it takes all summer," has been of service to the writer and is recommended as the best possible tonic for the case in question.

I would have it in

all manner of home,--dolls Here may be

I have previously referred to a subject in regard to which I have a theory but have not made the application, yet I would if I had an ungraded school; namely, the "nursery corner." an unconspicuous place where the little tots might go and play quietly at busy work while they wait to be taken home by the older pupils. Here should be a table and low shelves for holding things dear to the childish heart;-their own toys from and picture books, paper dolls, and blocks for building. the sand table for geography work and on the floor a large shallow box of sand where they may dig, and, with shells, starfish and other marine objects, "play sea-shore." Here is all your multifarious material; kindergarten sticks, splints, pegs, tooth picks and wooden solids, all of which you may beautify by giving them a bath in your aniline dyes with which the pampas grasses are treated.

By purchasing packages of Diamond dyes, of the three primary and the three secondary colors, you may convert rude material made by the ingenious jack-knife of the older boys into colored objects both delightful and invaluable for your teaching of form and color. These dyes may be made very strong and kept bottled for use as colored inks, and for the children to use as water colors in coloring the outline pictures and maps they will draw by tracing pasteboard models which you make for them, and for painting the scrap books before described.

You may test your skill in discipline of the right sort by having this place used every day for busy work and happy play, with no development of rudeness, or, indeed, even whispering or noisy laughter. Let the babies know it is theirs only while they are quiet

and they will touchingly respect your wishes and thus learn lessons of self-control, and carry all through life the memory of this Eden spot and of the tender, unselfish teacher who planned its joys. Is it not worth all your trouble to be hallowed henceforth in a shrine like this sweet memory?

THE ATTITUDE OF MR. KENNEDY TO HIS PROFESSION.

Mr. Kennedy must be a Doubting Thomas, judging by his attitude towards teachers or their profession [January JOURNAL.] I don't know that I am an average teacher (who ever knew one) but I have had many an average experience during my twenty-five years of service, and these experiences hardly agree with some of Mr. Kennedy's assertions. I have lived in this county nearly ten years. We have here a dozen lawyers, and about the same number of doctors and preachers, and but one of the lot has gathered together as many shekels (which Mr. K. says is the true measure of success) as myself to say nothing of other more fortunate teachers. Only two of them, the County Judge and the County Physician receive anywhere near as much per year as Mr. Kennedy's salary.

Mr K. intimates that the teacher lacks political influence, and has never heard of his presiding at town meetings or political conventions. I must plead guilty. I have done it. As to political influence, I have known dozens of teachers who kept their positions through political influence, and I have selected my school trustees many and many a time. The truth is, teachers seldom care to attend primaries unless they have an itching for the County Superintendency. As to our Fourth of July meetings, I don't ever remember attending a country celebration where no teacher took a prominent part

Now about the place we hold in the estimation of our pupils. No one thing in school life has ever amused me so much as the over estimation I have received from many a pupil. When I recall the kindly letters from pupils of twenty years past who have told me how they named their boy for me, when I think of other pupils coming far out of their way to visit me, and then when I remember how quickly I forget names and faces, I cannot call my pupils ungrateful. Why one of my pupils has even agreed to try and keep me in order the rest of my life, though she doubtless did not realize at first what a task she would have. As to the older people they have come to me time and again for advice, for help, and for sympathy. I have measured tanks,

THE ATTITUDE OF MR. KENNEDY TO HIS PROFESSION.

11

cisterns, ditches and lands, fixed up their accounts, settled their disputes, helped them create districts, build school-houses, bought the furniture and supplies, and if my advice and work didn't help any they never told me so.

Now about the money rewards which Mr. Kennedy values even above the statuary and crowns of honor. I suppose it would not be reasonable to expect to get rich by teaching though one might thus acquire a fair competence. No one expects to get rich from a salary. But an industrious saving teacher can put himself far beyond want. In 1876 I resolved to save money. I was getting $75 a month. The first year I saved $500. The next year I saved $600 including ten per cent interest on my savings. The third year I had $1800 laid by, and though I have had losses by fire and flood I had no trouble in adding to my surplus shekels at the rate of five or six hundred a year besides my expenses. Now that is more clear gain than any of our county lawyers, doctors, ministers or journalists made in their profession. I do not speak here of outside speculations which I have always avoided. How those San Francisco teachers who get $200 a month can keep poor unless they are unduly extravagant is more than I can understand. One dollar a day will keep a family of four in good food, clothes and reading. Many a family lives on less and four-fifths of our teachers could save one-half of their wages-if they would.

Are we non-progressive? When I recall the average teacher of twenty years ago I must say we have greatly improved. There are hundreds of teachers far in advance of their patron's demands. We cannot progress far beyond our patrons. In 1866 I advocated half-day attendance in my overcrowded school. I carried my point and lost my school by it. Since 1872 I have contracted to teach one hour less than the usual time each day and even that causes trouble though parents may acknowledge their children never learned so much before, still some felt defrauded.

In 1868 I began what my patrons ironically called "mud pies" (modeling), but they were not acceptable. Thus it has been through dozens of innovations, the pupils liked them but the people were not ready. I believe in the new education. I have prepared for it. I long for it. But I fear it will not reach me in time. I am an excellent cook, my quilt patterns are the admiration of my female neighbors, my buildings, stand up against the east wind and my roofs don't leak like my friends, who is a carpenter. I can break horses to the plow and cows to milk without kicking. I have built cisterns and